1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an environmental friendly animal excrement collector, more particularly to an environmental friendly animal excrement collector including a supporting base and a collecting device attached magnetically to the supporting base.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0124076 A1 discloses an animal excrement collector that includes a supporting base, harness means connected to the supporting base, a U-shaped retaining member secured to the supporting base using an adhesive material or hook and loop means, or through stitching, and a collecting device having a collecting bag and an upper ring secured to an open end of the collecting bag using the adhesive material and engageable with the retaining member so as to permit attachment of the collecting device to the supporting base. The upper ring may be provided thereon with an adhesive material, fastening means, or hook and loop means in order that the upper ring may serve as a sealing member by folding the same into two halves and joining together the halves so as to enclose the open end of the collecting bag when the excrement is collected in the collecting bag. The retaining member formed on the supporting base may be an adhesive material or a hook and loop device. In one example, the retaining member is a hook and loop device, and a U-shaped bracket is used and is attached to the supporting base through the hook and loop device. The U-shaped bracket is formed with a slot for engaging an edge of the upper ring therein, thereby attaching the collecting bag to the supporting base.
The aforesaid conventional animal excrement collector is disadvantageous in that since attachment of the upper ring together with the collecting bag and/or the U-shaped bracket to the retaining member on the supporting base is conducted through the adhesive material or the hook and loop device, careful alignment between the upper ring or the U-shaped bracket and the retaining member prior to the attachment is required, which results in inconvenience and waste of time during the attaching operation. Misalignment between the upper ring or the U-shaped bracket and the retaining member can increase the chance of bringing the upper ring or the U-shaped bracket into contact with the animal's excrement and results in an adverse effect on the appearance of the assembly thus formed. Moreover, attachment of such also tends to cause trouble in detachment of the collecting device from the retaining member such that a smooth and fast detachment is difficult to achieve, and result in undesired attachment of animal's hair and dirt to the adhesive material or the hook and loop device. Furthermore, the supporting base has a U-shaped structure with two opposing arms and a cross member interconnecting and cooperating with the arms to define a discharging opening aligned with the animal's anus, and a notch separate from the discharging opening for extension of the root of the animal's tail therethrough so as to confine the root of the animal's tail thereat and for preventing the animal's tail from extending through the discharging opening to interfere with the collecting bag. In addition, the perimeter or the diameter of an open end of the collecting bag is required to match in dimension that of the upper ring or that of the retaining member on the supporting base. Hence, the collecting bag can only be obtained through manufacturing of this particular type and cannot be obtained through recycled or used bags, which is not environmental friendly. Also, replacement of the collecting bag is relatively inconvenient. The cross member serves as an abutting wall such that when the supporting base is pulled frontwardly due to bending of the animal's body during excretion, the cross member will be brought to abut against the root of the animal's tail, thereby preventing further frontward movement of the supporting base. However, since the pulling force is relatively large, abutment of the cross member against the animal's tail is likely to cause discomfort to the animal and loosening of the straps of the harness means, thereby resulting in downward movement of the supporting base, which, in turn, results in disposition of the cross member into the course of the animal's excrement discharged from the anus of the animal, thereby undesirably bringing the cross member into contact with the animal's excrement. In addition, the aforesaid animal excrement collector is not suitable for dogs having a relatively short tail, such as bulldog, Schnauzer, Doberman, and the like, since the cross member of the supporting member tends to pass over the dog's tail during excretion, thereby resulting extension of the dog's tail into the discharging opening in the supporting member or the collecting bag or misalignment between the discharging opening and the animal's anus.